"No one should be left behind because of what they believe, whether they have any faith or none," declared Member of the British Parliament Fiona Bruce in a speech on the Sustainable Development Goals, House of Commons, 10 September 2015. Read a excerpt of her remarks below.

“Let me turn to the importance of leaving no one behind. Earlier, I read out a list of causes for which people can be left behind, whether due to gender, geography or those in minority groups such as the Dalits. This is a paradigm shift: leave no one behind regardless of their ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status. That is admirable.However, I believe that one word and cause of inequality is missing from that group: belief. No one should be left behind because of what they believe, whether they have any faith or none. Ministers know that I have raised on a number of occasions my concern that an underlying cause of poverty is a lack of freedom of belief, freedom of thought or the freedom of speech that can follow, resulting in conflict, violence, loss of opportunities, homelessness, displacement and more. If we are determined to tackle the underlying causes of poverty, we cannot leave that behind. Fostering religious freedom should be seen as a priority not only for tackling conflict once it has happened, but to prevent it before it takes place and to promote stability.

As Brian Grim argues in his book, “The Price of Freedom Denied”, religious freedom fosters respect towards others with a different belief in the same society, therefore reducing tensions. I would go further than that, because I think it will contribute to the achievement of our SDGs. For example, goal 5 promotes the rights of girls and women. So much harassment of women is linked to religious discrimination against women—the respected report by the Pew Research Centre states that such discrimination takes place in 32% of countries. Goal 8 is about economic welfare, and employment discrimination as a result of someone being involved in a faith group is rife, as we see in countries such as Iran.

Let me give another example—sustainable development goal 16, the promotion of peace, as well as sustainable development goal 8, economic growth. In countries where freedom of belief is not respected, conflict disrupts economic activity. Foreign and local investors become reluctant to invest, jeopardising sustainable development and economic growth. As businesses corroborate, an opportunity to invest, conduct normal business practice and prevent industries from struggling is weakened. Egypt’s tourism industry, for example, has faced such challenges. By promoting and practising freedom of belief, a path to security and economic well-being can be laid.

I urge Ministers to consider this and to engage faith groups in their civil society review. Is it not time to review the Department’s faith partnership principles? Finally, would DFID consider engaging in the joint learning initiatives on faith and development instituted by some of the major international NGOs working on poverty relief, such as Tearfund, CAFOD and World Vision?”

This excerpt was provided by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, which exists to raise awareness and profile of international freedom of religion or belief as a human right among Parliamentarians, media, government and the general public in the UK, and to increase the effectiveness of the UK’s contribution to international institutions charged with enforcing this human right.

In a new RealClearReligion article, Brian Walsh and Brian Grim assert that America's protections for religious workers' civil rights and liberties have strengthened our society and economy.

In the article, they cite social science research finding that protecting the civil rights of religious workers is good for society and good for business. For instance, a study published last year in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion focused on the World Economic Forum's list of indicators of a nation's global competitiveness. Of the 12 leading indicators, 10 have a strong positive correlation with respect for religious civil rights and legal protections against religion-based discrimination. On the flip side, government restrictions on religion damage the economic environment by increasing social hostility, depressing investment, and fomenting uncertainty.

Walsh and Grim argue that Americans still have a vital vested interest in ensuring that the workplace is not only free from religion-based discrimination, but welcoming of all people regardless of their faith or belief. Respecting and protecting our workforce's religious diversity is at the heart of what made America strong -- and of what will keep it strong in the years, decades, and centuries ahead.

For the full article, which also discusses a recent supreme court case as well as the legal protections against religious discrimination in the US, click here.

Related to this, the Weekly Number's analysis of a Pew Research Center report finds that the 12 countries identified in the study as having very high religious diversity each outpaced the world's economic growth between 2008 and 2012.

Among the 12 countries (5%) with very high religiously diversity, all are located outside of Europe and North America. Six are in Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, China and Hong Kong); five are in sub-Saharan Africa (Togo, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Benin and Mozambique); and one is in Latin America and the Caribbean (Suriname).

Between 2008 and 2012, the world's average growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was 1.7%. By contrast, each of the 12 countries with very high religious diversity had higher average growth, and most by substantial margins.

Average GDP growth between 2008-2012 in China, the world's 9th most religiously diverse country, averaged 9.3%. In seven of the twelve very diverse countries, average GDP growth was double or more that of the world average of 1.7%: Mozambique (7.0%), Vietnam (5.8%), Singapore (4.4%), Surinam (4.1%), Togo (4.0%), Benin (3,8%) and Taiwan (3.4%). In the remaining four very diverse countries, average GDP growth was also measurably higher than the world average: South Korea (2.9%), Ivory Coast (2.6%), Hong Kong (2.6%) and Guinea-Bissau (2.3%).

The underlying data for the religious diversity report are based on a December 2012 Pew Research Center study of the size and distribution of eight major world religions: Buddhists, Christians, folk religions, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, other religions considered as a group and the religiously unaffiliated. Taken together, these eight major groups comprise the world’s total population.

According to Arab business leader, Fouad Makhzoumi, religious freedom is a key ingredient to peace and stability, as measured by the absence of violent religious persecution and conflict. This is particularly important for business because where stability exists, there are more opportunities to invest and to conduct normal and predictable business operations, especially in emerging and new markets. Read the full text.

Fouad Makhzoumi is a leading industrialist, philanthropist and statesman. In 1997, Mr. Makhzoumi founded the Makhzoumi Foundation, a private Lebanese non-profit organization that contributes through its vocational training, health care and micro-credit programs to Lebanese civil society development.Follow this link to Mr. Makhzoumi’s prepared comments for a 21st August 2015 address to the Rimini Meeting, a gathering attracting up to 500,000 people from across Italy and the world each summer.This is part of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s new Leaders Speak series of talks and articles where business, religious and civic leaders speak out on countering violent extremism and increasing interfaith understanding and peace. For more on the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s own work on countering radicalization, see the Empowerment+ Initiative.

The New York Times reports that new Chinese security laws elevate the party and stifle dissent in a new tougher line that Mao would approve of. The new law, released in draft form this month, says security must be maintained “to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

Of course, the devil's in the details. But given a rash of recent government actions to impose its supremacy over culture, in particular, religion, China's economic success is under threat.

The study's findings - published in this summer's edition of The Review of Faith & International Affairs - will be surprising to the half of China’s population for whom religion is not a significant part of life. To the other half, they will make some sense, but still may be surprising. The reason is twofold. First, those who do not practice religion often tend to have their closest personal and social connections with people like themselves. Accordingly, people who do not encounter religion on a day-to-day basis may consider it to be an insignificant factor. Second, even those practicing a faith may not be aware of the connections between faith, freedom, and business because there has been very little research looking at the connections.

New research, however, finds close and logical connections between faith, freedom, and business., which I review in the article. First, I look specifically at the unrecognized role the religions of Chinese people play in creating a workforce ready for success. This includes the role of a relative, but incomplete, rise in religious freedom since the time of the Cultural Revolution on the 1960s and 1970s, when all faiths were outlawed and suppressed. It also includes a surprising finding from recent research that Chinese Christianity may be a special source of economic growth.

Second, I examine how the freedom to have faith is an unrecognized power to the economy, including an ally in the fight against corruption. Next, I look at a by-product of China’s gradual move to religious freedom—religious diversity— and how this is an added source of innovation for economic growth not only in China, but also in Asia more generally. Indeed, China is one of the world’s most religious and religiously diverse countries, and Asia is the world’s most religiously diverse region.

I then take up the most sensitive question of whether China should further deregulate religious freedom—including in light of recent violence in the western province of Xinjiang—and what that means for sustaining China’s economic growth. Throughout the article, I stress that the issues faced by China are not exclusive to it but are part of a growing global set of issues faced by all nations.

I conclude with the observation: "Perhaps just as China has radically deregulated its economy with successful outcomes, further deregulation of religion may be one way to help keep China's economic miracle alive."

As people of goodwill take different positions on religious freedom, it is important to focus on empirical connections between religious freedom and socio-economic outcomes.

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) studies freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and its impact on society, business and the economy. These studies and their findings are made available through various research articles and publications as well as in blogs and op-eds.

RFBF, collaborators and associates have produced a landmark study on the positive connection between religious freedom and economic strength. They have also produced a first-of-its kind study of ways that businesses around the world are involved in supporting interfaith understanding and peace. All of these are available on the RFBF website.

This week, RFBF is launching a new commentary section, Leaders Speak Out. The foundation is hosting a series of articles where business, religious and civic leaders speak out on countering violent extremism and increasing interfaith understanding and peace. The first two contributors are both members of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith:

For more on the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s own work on utilizing religious freedom to counter radicalization, see the Empowerment+ Initiative, which is designed to be piloted in London. It will counter radicalization through mentoring relationships, integrative business and self-reliance.

Given its role in building economies, mobilizing people around a shared purpose and pioneering cross-cultural management styles, business has an important stake in promoting intercultural and interreligious understanding, including freedom of religion or belief.

Storyboard from 1st B4P Meeting, Istanbul

On June 23, 2015, at the United Nations, a special session explores how successfully managing diversity and fostering tolerance and understanding – among employees, consumers and other stakeholders – is increasingly essential for long-term business success. Brian Grim will moderate the session.

This session is part of the Second Business for Peace (B4P) Annual Event: Building Peace, Realizing Sustainable Development will leverage the great momentum behind the business for peace movement to convene stakeholders from around the world in New York as part of Global Compact+15: Business as a force for good (23-25 June), which marks the UN Global Compact’s 15th anniversary. The B4P Annual Event will bring together representatives of business, Global Compact Local Networks, civil society, investors and Governments to focus on why and how business can play an important role in supporting peace and stability, rule of law and good governance – all critical building blocks for implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16.

The Strategic Needs

General: High-risk and conflict-affected areas are home to over half of the world’s population living on less than $1.25 a day. Violent conflict disrupts markets and business opportunities. If the world had been 25% more peaceful in 2010 – the global economy would have gained an additional economic benefit of over US$2 trillion. Company materiality is tied to the health of the communities where they operate. Long-term financial success goes hand-in-hand with social and environmental responsibility.

Religious: According to the Pew Research Center, approximately three-in-four people today (73%) live in countries with high levels of social hostilities involving religion. But, interfaith understanding – and its contribution to peace – is in the interest of business.

Recent research shows that economic growth and global competitiveness are stronger when social hostilities involving religion are low and government respect for, and protection of, the universally recognized human right of freedom is high.

Interfaith understanding also strengthens businessby reducing corruption and encouraging broader freedoms while also increasing trust and fostering respect. Research shows that laws and practices stifling religion are related to higher levels of corruption. Similarly, religious freedom highly correlates with the presence of other freedoms and a range of social and economic goods, such as better health care and higher incomes for women.

Positively engaging around the issue of interfaith understanding also helps business to advance trust and respectwith consumers, employees and possible partner organizations, which can give companies a competitive advantage as sustainability and ethics come to the forefront of corporate engagement with society.

With the shared vision of a more sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to people, communities and markets, it is clear that companies can make significant contributions to advancing interfaith understanding and peacethrough both core business and outreach activities.

For more, see the examples in a joint UNGC-Religious Freedom & Business Foundation publication that offer an important step forward in providing companies with guidance on why and how they can make practical contributions in this area – in ways benefitting both their business and the societies where they operate.

Employees who openly discuss their religious beliefs at work are often happier and have higher job satisfaction than those employees who do not. This is according to a new cross-cultural study* of nearly 600 working adults from a variety of industries — including education and finance — in the U.S. and South Korea.

The researchers concluded: "It is important for managers to consider the work environment and cultural context in its openness to a diversity of religious expression, as it can have an effect on work attitudes and outcomes. Managers should try to foster tolerant environments in which their employees feel that they can affirm their religion at work...."

"For many people, religion is the core of their lives," researcher Sooyeol Kim said. "Being able to express important aspects of one's life can influence work-related issues, such as job satisfaction, work performance or engagement. It can be beneficial for organizations to have a climate that is welcoming to every religion and culture."An important limitation of the study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, however, was that it only looked at Christian employees. Further research needs to be done to study other faiths, and especially whether those unaffiliated with a religion have positive or negative attitudes toward speaking about their beliefs.

Still, for those with beliefs, "disclosing your religion can be beneficial for employees and individual well-being," Kim said. "When you try to hide your identity, you have to pretend or you have to lie to others, which can be stressful and negatively impact how you build relationships with co-workers."

Kim said there are several ways employees can share their religion in the workplace. Employees might decorate their desk with a religious object, such as a cross or a calendar. They also may share stories or information about their religious beliefs during conversation, such as describing a church-related event.

Kim said the research on religion in the workplace plays a part into work-life balance. Research continues to show that individual characteristics — such as family and religion — can influence work-related issues.

"People can bring nonworking issues into the workplace or they may bring a work issue into their nonworking domain," Kim said. "Now days that boundary is blurred and there are less clear distinctions between work and personal life."

* Applying models of employee identity management across cultures: Christianity in the USA and South Korea by co-authors on the study include Brent Lyons, assistant professor of management and organization studies at Simon Fraser University; Jennifer Wessel, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Maryland; Sonia Ghumman, assistant professor of management at the University of Hawaii, Manoa; and Ann Marie Ryan, professor of psychology at Michigan State University, and Sooyeol Kim of Kansas State University.

Less than half of all workers report that their companies have the following key policies related to religious freedom and diversity: 1) flexible work hours to permit religious observance or prayer (44%); 2) materials explaining the company's policy on religious discrimination (42%); 3) a policy to allow employees to "swap holidays" (21%); and 4) programs to teach employees about religious diversity (14%).

These findings are from a recent Tanenbaum survey, "What American Workers Really Think about Religion."The survey notes that when it comes to addressing religion in the workplace, different religious groups have different needs for accommodation. For instance, a non-Christian may care more about the right to display a religious object or the right to pray during the day, while a Christian will be more concerned about attending service on Sunday.

The survey found that the most commonly experienced or witnessed forms of religious non-accommodation are being required to work on Sabbath observances or religious holidays (24%) and attending company-sponsored events that did not include kosher, halal or vegetarian options (13%).

ABOUT THE SURVEYTanenbaum’s 2013 Survey of American Workers and Religion was conducted by Public Religion Research LLC among a random sample of 2,024 American adults (age 18 and up) who are currently employed in a part-time or full-time position and who are part of GfK’s Knowledge Panel. Interviews were conducted online in both English and Spanish between March 19 and April 1, 2013. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2.8 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence.

This week, a groundbreaking new religious freedom & business resource highlights four ways that businesses are supporting interfaith understanding and peace today. The findings will be introduced during the 2014 Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) held in Bali, Indonesia, August 29-30.

1) Using Marketing Expertise to Bridge Borders: Companies are making positive contributions to peace in society by mobilizing advertising campaigns that bring people of various faiths and backgrounds together, as seen in the case study, "Coke Serves Up Understanding Across Borders."

2) Incentivizing Innovation: Because cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation is an essential part of daily work for multinational companies, one company for instance, the BMW Group, incentivizes other organizations to create innovative approaches to interfaith understanding through an award organized in collaboration with the UN Alliance of Civilizations. Organizations that have won this award include a tour company in the Middle East, which offers new paths to build bridges and bring cultures together, as seen in Promoting Understanding Through Tourism in the Holy Lands. Another recognized intercultural innovator uses job placements agencies to help contribute to the religious diversity of workforces, as seen in Helping Muslim Youth in the Philippines.

3) Incubating and Catalyzing Social Entrepreneurship: Business can also provide common ground where religious differences give way to shared concern and enterprise. The case study "Opportunity and Entrepreneurship in Nigeria" describes an approach modeled by a peace-building organization showing how supporting companies and new entrepreneurs in conflict-affected areas can reduce extremism. In Brazil, where religious freedom is generally well respected, the Petrobras company supports a business incubation for Afro-Brazilians, showing how company support for new small enterprises can have a significant impact in developing and empowering marginalized communities.

4) Supporting Workforce Diversity: When businesses are sensitive to the religious and cultural issues around them, they can not only increase employee morale and productivity, but also address unmet difficult social needs, as seen in Indonesia, where businesses open their doors to faith, such as prayer rooms for various faiths, and actions including helping interfaith couples have easier access to marriage.

Indeed, interfaith understanding – and its contribution to peace – is in the interest of business.

Recent researchshows that economic growth and global competitiveness are stronger when social hostilities involving religion are low and Government respect for, and protection of, the universally recognized human right of freedom is high.

Interfaith understanding also strengthens business by reducing corruption and encouraging broader freedoms while also increasing trust and fostering respect. Research shows that laws and practices stifling religion are related to higher levels of corruption. Similarly, religious freedom highly correlates with the presence of other freedoms and a range of social and economic goods, such as better health care and higher incomes for women.

Positively engaging around the issue of interfaith understanding also helps business to advance trust and respect with consumers, employees and possible partner organizations, which can give companies a competitive advantage as sustainability and ethics come to the forefront of corporate engagement with society.

With the shared vision of a more sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to people, communities and markets, it is clear that companies can make significant contributions to advancing interfaith understanding and peace through both core business and outreach activities. The examples in this publication offer an important step forward in providing companies with guidance on why and how they can make practical contributions in this area – in ways benefitting both their business and the societies where they operate.

Commenting on the report,Georg Kell, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact, observes, "Given its role in building economies, mobilizing people around a shared purpose and pioneering cross-cultural management styles, business has an important stake in promoting intercultural and interreligious understanding. Successfully managing diversity and fostering tolerance and understanding – among employees, consumers and other stakeholders – is increasingly essential for long-term business success."

And Brian Grim, President, Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, noted that “Business is at the crossroads of culture, commerce and creativity. This means businesses have the resources to make the world more peaceful as well as the incentive to do so. Indeed, as these case studies show, business is good for interfaith understanding, religious freedom and peace.” Through this new collaborative publication, the UN Global Compact’s Business for Peace platform and the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation seek to raise awareness among business, Governments and other stakeholders of the ways in which business can and are contributing to interfaith understanding and peace.